Save Gas – Nitrogen Filled Tires


gas - ways to save moneyConcept: When looking at ways to save gas, this is one of the more interesting ones I’ve come across. Tires inflated with nitrogen have been used for years on racing cars and with gas prices rising, the concept is starting to migrate over to normal cars and trucks. The concept is that nitrogen has larger molecules than oxygen and therefore will keep the tires of the car at the proper pressure much longer than filling them with air. Since under inflated tires are often sited as a waste of gas, having them stay filled at the proper pressure should improve gas mileage as they will stay at the proper pressure as much as three time longer.

Will You Save Money?: Maybe

Comments: While this is an interesting concept, there is currently one major problem with it. Filling a tire with nitrogen costs about $10 so to get all your tires done will set you back $40. The question is whether you drive enough to make the $40 investment pay off. For those who drive very little, it probably would not pay off, but for those who put a lot of miles on their car and don’t check tire pressure on a regular basis, this could save them a significant amount. This will likely become a more popular gas saving strategy as gas prices rise and makes the initial investment more worthwhile.


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August 17th, 2006
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
the Prince of Thrift
Posted on:
August 17, 2006 at 2:30 am

When I bought my car back in January, the 1st major think I did was go and have nitro put in my tires. What you didn’t mention, maybe because you didn’t ask (while pricing), or it’s different in your area, but the cost is lifetime.
Anotherwards, as long as I return to the tire place, that put the nitro in my tires, they will refill them for free. In addition, if I buy my new (replacement) tires from them, they will fill them with nitro for free also.
Of course, I am in Topeka, KS and you might want to check that out in your area. But that $40 becomes pretty cheap, when you consider that.

One more thing, if I am traveling and I need to add more “air” to my tire, I can stop at a local filling station, and add air. When I get back to Topeka, I just take it back to the tire place, and they will remove the air and replace it with nitro. Again at no extra cost.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
~dawn
Posted on:
August 17, 2006 at 9:25 am

Why couldn’t everyone use it? Does the nitro leave the tire faster than air if the car sits for longer than a day?

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Kim
Posted on:
August 17, 2006 at 9:53 am

How much of a noticeable difference can this make? Nitrogen is almost 80% of “air” already.

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
pfadvice
Posted on:
August 17, 2006 at 4:04 pm

Why couldn’t everyone use it? Does the nitro leave the tire faster than air if the car sits for longer than a day?

Everyone could use it – it’s just that if you aren’t driving a lot, then the savings from the tires being properly inflated will be more difficult to recover (remember, $10 per tire to inflate with nitrogen). The best savings would come from having your tires always properly inflated with air (and checking often that they always are) thus avoiding the charge of getting them filled with nitrogen.

The nitrogen doesn’t actually make the tires any more efficient. The savings comes from keeping them inflated at the proper level longer so if you don’t check your tire pressure often, you aren’t wasting gas with under inflated tires.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Michael
Posted on:
August 17, 2006 at 5:54 pm

I Nitro’d our Accord’s tires a few weeks ago. I work at a service department that offers this service, and I’ll say that IMO, the jury is still out. I may have more doubts than most, though, simply because I see first-hand some of the crap that service departments like to foist upon the public. Whether or not this falls into the Crap category remains to be seen.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
» Weekly Roundup on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity
Posted on:
August 18, 2006 at 11:12 am

[...] PFAdvice tackles the topic of using nitrogen filled tires, a topic I’ve covered as well. (article on nitrogen filled tires) Whereas I was getting the nitrogen free (part of the service at Costco), Jeff quotes the price of inflating a tire at a whopping $10 – that’s clearly not worth it. [...]

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
mbhunter
Posted on:
August 18, 2006 at 10:49 pm

Sounds like a gimmick to me. Why not check your tires once a week or so and fill them up when necessary?

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Mighty Bargain Hunter » Roundup for the week of 14 August 2006
Posted on:
August 19, 2006 at 10:35 pm

[...] PFAdvice discusses filling up tires with nitrogen to save gas. [...]

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
Hunter
Posted on:
August 22, 2006 at 2:44 pm

Definitely a gimmick. As pointed out, air is almost 80% nitrogen already. Check the air in your tires whenever you fill your tank, that should be often enough and FREE. More important to save gas and wear and tear on your engine is to change your oil every 3 to 5 thousand miles and change the sparkplugs every 1 to 2 years. Avoiding speeding, hotrodding and jackrabbit starts and stops will save far more gas than nitrogen in your tires.

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
Gio
Posted on:
August 23, 2006 at 9:50 am

Gimmick….

If air is 80% nitro and nitro takes longer to leak out of the tire. Wouldn’t consecutive inflations increase the percentage of nitro inside the tire and therefore not require you to buy pure nitro?

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
Todd
Posted on:
August 25, 2006 at 10:38 am

Do you realize people are more likely to hand wash their cars than they are to check the tire pressure. Why wouldn’t you pay the money just to protect yourself and your family? Plus 9 out of ten times it’s a 1 time investment.

Comment Number:
12
Written by:
bill
Posted on:
August 25, 2006 at 7:17 pm

Tires Plus now has Nitro at $2.50 per tire. For $10.00 it’s well worth it.Larger molecule means lower heat on the road which leads to less tire distortion and less rolling resistance, as well as less pressure loss over time. I checked my Impala on the Interstate with Nitro and got 32.4 mpg, same trip without nitro I got 29.9.

Comment Number:
13
Written by:
MarieN
Posted on:
June 19, 2007 at 7:51 am

The Nitrogen Tires thing was tested on Mythbusters and that myth was busted.

Comment Number:
14
Written by:
A.Royal
Posted on:
July 12, 2007 at 2:11 pm

Where in the St.Louis, Mo area can I find a station to fill my tires with Nitrogen? In Fl their every where….

Comment Number:
15
Written by:
gas tired
Posted on:
June 2, 2008 at 7:58 am

I live in Florida and high gas prices seems to be everyone